Since the mid-80s, the Telescopes have been steadily expanding the boundaries of their distinctive brand of noisy psychedelia, evolving from thick barrages of noise rock in their earliest days into more subtle, dreamy pop as the years went on. After some mid-2000s experimentation with electronic soundscapes, the band returned to the heavy, droning noise rock of their earliest days, with records like 2017s As Light Return and 2019s Exploding Head Syndrome embracing lurching tempos and hypnotic songs, informed by the same demented blues perspectives that guided Spacemen 3 and recorded like the band was playing in a garage several houses away. Twelfth studio album Songs of Love & Revolution continues the groups fixation with noise-dazzled psychedelic drone rock, but the production is clearer and the songs hit with direct impact. Tracks like Strange Waves and the propulsive We See Magic and We Are Neutral, Unnecessary (the latter of which originally appeared as a one-sided 7 in 2012) are blasts of heavily effected feedback driven by unwavering, repetitive bass lines. While the sound is still caustic psychedelic blues in the vein of Telescopes peers like Loop or Flying Saucer Attack, its less muddy, allowing for different textures of fuzz to interact with the minimal rhythms. Bandleader Stephen Lawries versatile songwriting has long split the Telescopes output between noisy assaults and more understated, softly lit songs, and Songs of Love & Revolution explores a gradient of volume and tension with several tracks that are less noisy, yet sometimes just as intense as the rockers. Youre Never Alone with Despair is a slow crawl through depression on par with the darkest moments of early Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, while the brighter Mesmerized moves gently between light taps of tambourine and waves of guitar scrawl borrowed from the Velvet Underground & Nico. Songs of Love & Revolution doesnt quite fall under the banner of shoegaze, but the Telescopes have always stayed consistently outside of easily definable genres, watching trends come and go for over 30 years while focusing on their own craft. These nine songs are some of the most neatly rendered of the bands post-2010 output, but lose none of their mind-bending effect in the production upgrade. If anything, the album finds the Telescopes delivering their messages of self-discovery and cosmic love louder than ever. ~ Fred Thomas

Rovi